Webcomics I Like

Order of the Stick, by Richard Burlew
I found this comic while trawling through a list of the top 100 most popular webcomics in the world, looking for something to read - anything to read. Although I only found this one thing, it was worth it.
It does help if you're into role-playing, but it isn't essential. Most of the humour and story is universal, and lack of gaming knowledge never gets in the way of general understanding.
The best example of how OOTS uses role playing terminology to debate interesting real-life concepts is in the case of Miko, the Lawful Good paladin. At what point does one become so Lawful and Good that one is in fact neither of those things?

Cat and Girl, by Dorothy Gambrell
I tried to read this comic two or three times before I got into it. I just didn't understand it. I still don't. But that's okay, because it doesn't take itself too seriously, like most other incomprehensible things.
Now I regard it, alongside the one above, as one of the finest two comics on the internet. It's astute, philosophical and, apart from the incomprehensible bits, reasonably accessible.
My favourite strip is Cat versus Chewing because it's the only one I can remember reading where Girl is smiling in the final panel. It's enough of an exception to the rule to give the rule some meaning.

Homestar Runner, by The Chapped Brothers
I discovered Homestar Runner like four years after they were popular, so when I told all my internet 'friends' about it they mocked me for being 'sooo 2002'. Which isn't really fair since Homestar Runner has developed consistently since then.
Homestar Runner is a weird amalgamation of the best things about childhood and pre-adolescence. It looks for humour in the most unconventional and innovative places, so it's not unusual to find jokes about the animation software used to create the website.

Sinfest, by Tatsuya Ishida
The first few times I tried reading this comic I was put off by what I thought was gratuitous adult humour. After a while I realised that it's more or less kid friendly compared with other webcomics out there. Normally devil whores would be treated as objectified male fantasy fodder, but somehow in Sinfest they become actual characters. Who knew you could draw a scantily clad woman and not make her semi-pornographic?

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella, by Justin Pierce
The latest in my collection. Again, I sort of half-browsed this a few times before really giving it a go... I think I have to half-browse every webcomic before I try to read it properly. Order of the Stick is the only comic I bookmarked on my very first read.
I like the take on superheroes Wonderella brings... too much culture is way too obsessed with lame superheroes. Did you know they derived both 'Red Hulk' and 'She-Hulk' from the Hulk, but then they combined the two derivatives to make 'Red She-Hulk'? And then they gave her a SAI and an ASSAULT RIFLE out of their Random Weapon Combination Generator? Seriously. Superheroes are only cool in parody form.

Brunswick, by Grant Buist
Many people who attended Victoria University or Wellington between the years 1993 and 2003 may remember Brunswick as the regular comic of student newspaper Salient between the years 1993 and 2003. And then after that he was on the internet for a while before the life of the cartoonist became too complicated and not much actual cartooning was performed with the exception of Jitterati, printed in free local newspaper The Capital Times.
Those of us familiar with Buist's work anticipate his return to the gruelling, unrewarding ranks of creativity.

Freefall, by Mark Stanley
I liked this when I read all the archives in one go. But since Mark Stanley is a very patient person who is content to spend 20 years writing a single story, and will spend half a year on some minor incident that won't progress the storyline at all, and he only updates three times a week... yeah.
The highlight is Florence Ambrose, who applies a wonderful kind of common sense and perception to every situation she encounters. I wish the human race was more like her, and didn't spend most of its time paddling around in the shallow end of the logic pool.

Boy on a Stick and Slither, by Steven L. Cloud
I like the studious contemplation of this comic. It's relaxing. I still browse it occasionally, but not regularly, like other webcomics. Something needs to have the potential to surprise me to make me a regular reader,

Elf Only Inn, by Josh Sortelli
One of the many webcomics that died of death. It's a shame, because I rather enjoyed the earlier parodies of internet forum behaviour. Even the deliberate typos struck a chord.

Her! [Girl vs Pig], by Chris Bishop
I'm not sure whether this comic is technically dead or not. Or just, like, really slow. Anyway, I quite liked it.

Distant Screaming, by Tom Turnasella
Another comic I'd still be reading if it were still being made.

Other stuff

Brickset
Lego news, archives and records. My collection is here.

Lil Formers, by Matt Moylan
Not sure why I don't include this with the webcomics above. I guess I just needed more stuff for the 'other' links, and the jokes in this are rather obscure.